District 4 Jim Provenza

As the Supervisor to District 4, I welcome you to my website. It is a priority of mine to preserve and protect open space and farm land in Yolo County, to promote services for seniors, children, crime victims, and the disabled, and to insure that Yolo County is able to provide essential law enforcement services and public safety protection.

I have over 30 years of county and state government experience, and a long career in public interest law. For the past 18 years, I have worked as a special assistant district attorney.

I was born in Buffalo, New York on February 18, 1955. My family moved to San Diego, California in 1959 where I resided until 1968 (7th grade). From 1968 until I left for College, I lived in Camarillo, CA in Ventura County. I then attended UC Santa Barbara, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science in 1977. Following that, I earned my law degree in 1980 from UC Davis. I have been a member of the California State Bar Association since then.

After law school, I returned to Santa Barbara, where I worked as the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County, managing countywide programs providing legal representation to victims of domestic violence and the elderly. In 1988, my family and I moved to Sacramento, where I began working as the managing attorney for Legal Services of Northern California, representing victims of housing discrimination in federal civil rights actions.

Then, from 1989-1992, I served as counsel to Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Bill Lockyer. I wrote California’s hate crime law and legislation related to the reform of the criminal justice system. I later served as chief counsel to the Assembly Public Safety Committee, where I conducted an investigation of medical conditions for AIDS patients at Vacaville Prison. Soon after, I was hired to represent district attorneys at the state capitol. I returned to Davis in 1994 with my family.

I first entered public office in 2003 as a Member of the Davis Joint Unified Board of Education. I served as President of the Board of Education from 2006-2007. During my time on the Board, I supported excellence in education for all our students, advocated for special needs children, and helped the Davis School District revamp budgeting systems to ensure continued quality education.

Throughout the years, I’ve worked hard to build coalitions and promote collaboration, even among those with different points of view.

I currently reside in Davis with my wife, Donna, a sociology professor at California State University Sacramento. Donna’s mother, Rose Calabria, also lives with us at our home in Mace Ranch. We have two children. Jennifer is a 2001 graduate of Davis High School. She graduated from New York University in 2005. James graduated in 2006 from Davis High School and is currently a student at the California College of Arts in San Francisco.

I am interested in your thoughts, concerns, and questions, and I value your participation in Yolo County government. I hope to see you around town in Davis and in District 4. I hold regular office hours (to be announced soon) at my district office in Davis at 600 A Street, and welcome you to visit.